Agenda item

Andrew Williams will be giving an update on the York Pride improvements in the Holgate ward.

Andrew Williams (AW) updated residents on street environment issues in the ward. The following points were noted:

4.1      In response to concerns raised about Millennium Green (point 3f), AW will go and have a look at the litter problems.  He will also be putting up some ‘no dog fouling’ signs in the area.

4.2      AW reported that he is being pro-active in terms of preventing dog fouling in the ward.  He approaches people walking dogs to ask them if they have any dog bags.  If the answer is no, he will remind them that it is an offence to allow dogs to foul and provides them with some dog bags.

4.3      As part of a ‘community payback’ scheme, the Probation Service are providing help to clean up and paint over graffiti in the ward.  The Street Environment Team are hoping to secure funding to purchase a pressure washer for them to use.  Private properties are currently a problem as the council has no power to enforce that the owners clean off graffiti.  AW hopes that with the help of the Probation Service, the team will have the resources to clean it off with permission from private residents.

4.4      There are forms available for residents to fill in to report any street environment issues that they have.

Residents asked the following questions:

a)  Shouldn’t the rowing club be taking some responsibility for cleaning up the graffiti on their walls, it has been there for a long time.

Response was given that it has been cleaned up a couple of times but the problem keeps reoccurring.  Hopefully, with the help of the Probation Service the team will be able to keep on top of this problem.   A database called TAAGY (Taking Action Against Graffiti in York) has been set up to keep a photographic record of incidences of graffiti across the city.  Residents are encouraged to take pictures of any graffiti they see and pass it onto their SNT to be uploaded onto the database.

b)  The goal posts painted on the wall in Back Park by the kids who play football there have been removed again.  I thought we had agreement that they could be left on as they serve a purpose and no-one minds?

Response was given that the team who clean up graffiti in the ward will be asked not to remove the goal posts in future.  Cllr Sonja Crisp agreed that the ward team would look into painting proper goal posts on the wall.

c)  Are the skips advertised in Your Ward going to be regular?

Response was given that the skips were funded by the 2008/09 ward committee budget.   Skips have also been included on the 2009/10 ward committee schemes list which needs to be approved at this meeting.

d)  The skip that came to Leeman Road on 24^th January was a waste of time.  It was supposed to be available from 8.30am to 9.30am but came at 8.10am and left at 9.10am.  The timing was not very well thought out. 

Response was given that more thought will be given to the times in future.  It was only available for a short space of time because if it was any longer, the ward committee would have to pay extra for it to be supervised to ensure that businesses do not putting waste in there which been a problem in the past.

e)  Can something be done about the dog mess on the embankment between Lincoln Street and Balfour Street? Could the dog warden be asked to visit at busy times?

Response was given that AW would get the mess cleaned up.  He will ask the dog warden to visit the area.